Disney Creates A New Way to Customize Family Travel to Walt Disney World

If you are planning a family vacation to Walt Disney World this year, Disney has just launched a new program to make your travel a breeze. Disney's innovative new ticket plan -- "Magic Your Way" -- now allows your family to create your own tickets for a customized Walt Disney World vacation.

Now, families visiting Walt Disney World Resort will be able to purchase tickets to the various theme parks, attractions and other entertainment offerings that are tailored to the length of their vacation and the interests of their group -- and allow them to save more per day based on their length of stay.

"Recent research shows that longer vacations are high on the wish list for families," Weiss said. "With so much to see and do at Walt Disney World, guests want to take a week to experience it all, at their own pace. With this new plan they can -- and at more affordable prices that reward more leisurely stays.

"Simply put," he said, "the more you play, the less you pay, per day."

With the new "Magic Your Way" ticket plan, guests create their own ticket for their perfect Walt Disney World vacation -- whether that includes seven days of theme park fun, or water park action, or a night on the town at Downtown Disney.

Creating a custom ticket is easy. First, guests choose the number of days they want on a base ticket that allows them to visit one theme park each day. Then they can select from a menu of ticket options that includes:

* Park Hopper Option: Adding the Park Hopper option lets guests come and go as they please through all four Walt Disney World theme parks each day for the length of their ticket. Extra cost to the base-price ticket: $35 -- or just $5 per day on a seven-day ticket.

* Magic Plus Pack Option: For Disney fun beyond the four theme parks, this option provides the choice of admission to Disney's Blizzard Beach water park, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon water park, DisneyQuest, Downtown Disney Pleasure Island or Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. Extra cost to the base-price ticket: $45 (includes 2-5 visits to these other attractions, depending on the number of base ticket days purchased).

* No Expiration Option: "Magic Your Way" tickets expire 14 days after their first use. Electing the "no expiration" option means the guest is free to come back and take advantage of unused ticket entitlements at any time. Extra cost to the base-price ticket: $10 if 2-day ticket purchased, up to $55 if 7-day ticket purchased.

* "Magic Your Way" Premium Pass: To capture all that Walt Disney World Resort has to offer, this ticket combines the benefits of Park Hopper and Magic Plus Pack options.

Under this new program, a family of four will be able to enjoy a six- night/seven-day Walt Disney World vacation -- including a stay at an on- property Disney hotel with theme park tickets -- for as little as $1,500.

Staying in the "middle of the magic" at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel has always been the best and most relaxing way to enjoy a Walt Disney World vacation. And now Disney hotel guests get great new benefits, too, including more time in the parks and a convenient and affordable dining plan:

* Extra Magic Hours: Each day the gates of one of Disney's magical theme parks open one hour early or stay open three hours later so Disney Resort hotel guests can enjoy select attractions. (A valid theme park ticket and Resort ID are required.)

* Disney Dining Plan: Disney hotel guests who want the convenience of a more-inclusive "cruise-style" vacation can purchase the "Magic Your Way" Package Plus Dining. For each night of their resort stay guests can enjoy two meals and a snack at more than 100 select restaurants throughout the Walt Disney World parks and hotels.

With more than 20 uniquely themed Disney resorts -- Value, Moderate, Deluxe and Disney Vacation Club -- Walt Disney World offers accommodations for every taste and budget. New values and benefits come at a perfect time, as Walt Disney World Resort prepares to launch "The Happiest Celebration on Earth," marking 50 years of Disney theme park magic since Disneyland opened in 1955.

Beginning May 5, 2005, Walt Disney World is importing attractions from Disney parks around the globe to mark the occasion:

* At Epcot, a soaring adventure over California comes from Disneyland Resort.

* At Magic Kingdom, a magical, musical "Cinderellabration" takes its cue from the popular Tokyo Disney Resort show.

* And at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Lucky the dinosaur walks straight out of the secret labs of Walt Disney Imagineering.

"Magic Your Way" tickets go on sale beginning Jan. 2. Until then, guests can find more information at http://www.disneyworld.com. Also beginning Jan. 2, a new step-by-step, shopping cart-style process on disneyworld.com makes it easy to customize and book a dream Walt Disney World vacation. Or guests can contact 407/W-DISNEY or their travel agent to book the magic -- their way.